Best Practices in Community College Budgeting

GFOA has developed a series of Best Practices in Community College (College) Budgeting, which clearly outline steps to developing a budget that best aligns resources with student achievement goals. This document summarizes the key themes from those Best Practices, including corresponding links to the actual Best Practice, all of which are available at www.gfoa.org.

The budgeting process advocated for by the Best Practices in Community College Budgeting is focused on optimizing student achievement within available resources. It encompasses a complete cycle for long-term financial planning and budgeting, including planning the budget process, developing a budget, evaluating how the budget process worked and adjusting accordingly. Throughout this cycle, the community college’s institutional goals serve as the overarching guide for decision-making and resource allocation.

Recommendation:

GFOA recommends that all community colleges go through the following steps as part of their planning and budgeting process.

Step 1. Prepare and Develop Inputs to the Budget Process. The planning and budgeting process begins with establishing principles and policies to guide the budget process and gaining a better understanding of the forces that shape the budget.

Develop strategies. A college should adopt strategies that address root causes of the challenges the college faces, that align with the college’s budgeting principles and policies, that are consistent with proven practices and that provide a coherent set of action steps for implementation.

Step 4. Prioritize Spending to Enact the Strategies and Allocate Resources. A well-crafted budget document results from prioritization and allocation of expenditures that align with the college’s goals.

Prioritize spending to enact the strategies. Current and new expenditures need to be prioritized so that the college’s limited resources are directed towards the most cost-effective expenditures for reaching the college’s goals.